Practice and client management

What's old is new again, but lenders should heed lessons from the past when re-entering the second-lien originations market.

Purchase mortgage originations are soaring because of high-credit score applicants, while refinance applications are declining among the same group of borrowers, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Calling the purchase of its first customer-relationship management vendor "a mistake," Ellie Mae CEO Jonathan Corr is ready to tee off with its new CRM acquisition, Mortgage Returns.

A handful of housing markets in the West showed signs of resilience in October, Pro Teck Valuation Services' monthly Home Value Forecast indicates.

Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson's term as chairman of the MBA underscores how the consumer-direct mortgage channel has grown from a quirky novelty to the force leading a technology revolution.

Mortgage rates fell this week as investors acted on Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo's doubts on an interest rate increase occurring before the end of the year.

Sales of previously owned homes rebounded in September to the second-highest level since February 2007.

Both forecasts call for growth in home purchase volume over the next few years, but the decline in refinance originations will be so steep that overall origination volume will decrease.

B2R Holdings, the parent company of B2R Finance, which lends to landlords, has rebranded as Lending.com.

Single-family home market values nationwide are expected to rise 3.6% in the coming year, according to Veros Real Estate Solutions, which said this is one of the best forecasts in almost two years.

Roostify has closed a Series A investment round led by Texas-based financial services company USAA, the San Francisco-based automated mortgage transaction platform company announced Thursday.

Average fixed mortgage rates perked up the week ending Oct. 15, but remained under the 4% level for the 12th consecutive week.

Executives in the mortgage industry must "take a page from the real estate community" and be more active in Washington and their state capitals, said outgoing Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman Bill Cosgrove.

Ellie Mae has agreed to purchase St. Louis-based Mortgage Returns, which provides customer-relationship management services.

LendingTree already offers a Yelp-like community where consumers can rate loan officers. Now it has created a question-and-answer forum within its loan officer directory platform.

Mortgage application volume fell 27.6% on an adjusted basis for the week ending Oct. 9, reversing the rush of the previous week caused by the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule becoming effective, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Homeowners continue to give their properties a higher valuation than appraisers would, according to Quicken Loans.

As the mortgage industry awaits clear direction on marketing service agreements, recent guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau clarifies only how little the agency likes them.

LoanDepot in Irvine, Calif., seeks to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering.

In Bakersfield, Calif., a teacher on an average salary can afford 86% of the homes on the market. In Salt Lake City, that number drops down to only 26%.